Should Drug Drugs Learn Their Lesson Analysis

If an addiction is a disease, does it mean that the person is not responsible for his actions? There is a point of view that drug addicts should “learn their lesson” like other criminals. That could potentially prevent them from committing other crimes. However, this might not, in fact, be the case, as, according to Langan and Levin (1994), 25 per cent of drug offenders released from prison were back in prison within three years of their release. That indicates that some proportion of drug offenders do not “learn their lesson”. On the other hand, same could be said for other types of offenders who were sent back to prison for the same crime they were initially arrested for. An example could be those initially arrested for rape, as 2.5 per cent
That suggests that drugs may not be the cause of someone’s crime. If this is the case, then sending an offender to prison should be the primary concern in order for an individual to “learn his lesson” and to isolate the society from the criminal. For example, most of the drug users do not commit crimes to pay for their drugs (UKDPC, 2008). This could indicate that those who are committing offends are severely broke or severely addicted. Alternatively, it could indicate that some of the drug users do not commit offends to use drugs, and that means that it is possible to not commit offends to use drugs and just requires willpower. If this is the case, even if addiction is the disease, it would be fair to send those who commit drug offences to prison. I will now discuss the arguments that suggest that it is fair to send drug offenders to clinical settings instead of jail.
First of all, there is evidence that prison increases addiction. This might be because prisoners are in contact with drug-using peers. These peers could introduce one to new types of addictive substances, for example,
As a result of imprisonment, the offender could have problems with housing, employment, and family relationships (UKDPC, 2008). Additionally, the prison could create various health risks, such as infections from blood-borne viruses (UKDPC, 2008). This further reduces the chances of successful long-term outcomes for a person. Moreover, upon release from prison, individual returns to the drug-using environment, which could trigger further drug use (Binswanger et al., 2012). Moreover, enforced detoxification in prison without the appropriate follow-up could do more harm than good, lead to relapse, overdose, or even consequent death upon release (UKDPC, 2008). This happens because of the decreased tolerance to drugs because one was not taking them in prison and there is an increased sensitization reaction to the drug (Califano,